A Victim of Hope, by Deb Eve

I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling, well just a bit off. Was I hung-over, I asked myself? Tuesday night was pretty wild, but in all the excitement, I’m pretty sure I’d only had one drink. But I definitely had symptoms I couldn’t ignore. Maybe I was coming down with something. Quite a lot of the friends I’ve spoken to since election day have reported similar symptoms. Yup, something’s definitely going around alright. It’s called Hope and it’s something that a lot of us haven’t felt in a very long time.

You too may be coming down with a case of Hope. How do you know if you have fallen victim to what may soon reach epidemic proportions? Take this simple test:

Did you wake up on Wednesday morning feeling a little light-headed? Or perhaps like a giant weight has been lifted off your shoulders?

Do you have the sudden urge to volunteer? To join the Peace Corps, Americorps, Teach for America or to simply pick up litter on the street?

Do you hear friendly, supportive voices? Do you suddenly feel NOT alone?

Did you spend the entire day on Wednesday composing a poem that you envision reading at President Obama’s inauguration? (Do you fantasize that YOU are the next Maya Angelou?)

In aerobics class when the workout remix of the old song “I Believe in Miracles” comes on, do you think of it as a political anthem? Do you secretly refer to Barack Obama as “You sexy thing?”

On Election Night, when one of the news anchors referred to Barack Obama as a “Citizen of the World,” did you yell, “Finally, one of MY homies is going to the White House?”

If you answered “Yes” to three or more of these questions, than you may be a victim of Hope. If you answered “Yes” to ALL of these questions then you may be ME and I suggest you get yourself into therapy immediately.

But if you are, indeed, coming down with a case of Hope, try not to panic. Hope might make you starry-eyed, but it should not make you delusional. Even if you have a severe case of Hope, you should not believe that President Barack Obama is going to single-handedly clean up the mess we are in. But even those of you with a mild case of Hope might no longer feel the need to cower, shop and hand over your rights in order to prove that you are patriotic. If enough of us come down with Hope, then perhaps mindlessness will no longer be a basic requirement of being a good citizen. There is even a movement afoot to ensure that people with Hope will now be entitled to the same rights and protections as other groups of Americans such as Hockey Moms, NASCAR fans and plumbers. I myself feel the day is coming soon when people afflicted with Hope will be considered fully productive citizens and will be integrated into every facet of American life.

Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll even have a President who has been afflicted with Hope. Oh, wait a minute . . . that’s already happened, hasn’t it? Someone pinch me.

I felt quite rootless on Wednesday. There were no polls to check, no races to watch, and nothing to be anxious about. Except, of course, the enormity of the task that are new president must tackle. I can’t believe anyone would want to be president, but thank goodness someone smart does!

Yeah, I know what you mean Meredith. I was like a fart in a blizzard on Wednesday – blowing every which way, completely useless.

The task Obama now faces is too enormous for anyone to tackle. And that’s why we all have to step up, too. We can’t just hand it to him to fix – that’s a recipe for failure. (And I believe a failure now would cause people to say “see that’s proof that the Democrats/liberals/black people/fill in the blank can’t handle it – if Hillary Clinton had gotten in, then they could have added women to that aforementioned list). Obama is asking all of us to do our part, to make sacrifices to step up. And he – and the country – NEEDS all of us to step up. And it is the ONLY way out of this hole.

Judy, people where I live are certainly happier. Everyone is smiling, giving each other the thumbs up. A friend called me yesterday morning and said “It’s a whole new world.” Total strangers are greeting each other with “Better days are ahead.” But I live in a very progressive place. I can’t help but wonder what the mood is in other places. I can’t help but wonder what McCain’s people are feeling and thinking. And really, for us to move forward as a country, they have to get on board as well.

Hi Eve. I think it’s a particularly American response to have a case of Hope when everything’s in the crapper. And I think it’s what makes a great country. Not our bombs. Not our money (not that we have any anymore), and certainly not our secret overseas prisons. Yes we can!

I woke up in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and the minute my brain latched onto our new reality, I smiled. I SMILED! At 3 a.m.! Who smiles at 3 a.m. unless they have a damned good reason to?!
And this feeling, this amazing hope? It feels like the total direct opposite of how everyone felt on 9/11. Sure there’s disbelief, but in the best of all possible ways. It’s an amazing feeling.

Happy Friday Ladies of The Pen,
All your hopeful musings make me tearfully silly and smiling throughout my day.

Since “the new world began”, I have not left my house, partly because the weather has been lousy, and I don’t do lousy weather, partly because I kind of feel the need for my “nest”, but mostly because I don’t want to accidently run into any dis a POINTED Republican neighbors who will try to burst my bubble with their sharp jabs.

Also, I can’t seem to stop watching the news…nothing else (except Oprah) seems to be important now…nothing. I know it is a kind of post partem “let down”, after all giving birth to a new world was hard and took longer then any of my other gestations. I notice even the very news commentators I love to watch…MSNBC have different energy now, Rachel Maddow looks happily dazed.

I guess sooner or later, I will have to leave the house…if only to get the mail, but for a little while longer, I will quietly savor this sweet hazy feeling of “all is right with the world”, and look through my “rose colored” glasses at the brave new world I hope I helped create.

Next task…when I am ready, is to figure out how to get to the “swearing in” hoopla.

totally contagious with hope here in greenfield, Ma, passing it on to everyone, spreading like a virus, I “hope” . It is really ok to crank up the tunes and dance around house when you are home sick with hope!
Thanks Eve love!
Becky